Mastretta Founders Walk Away From Sports Car Startup

Mexican sports car startup Mastretta has hit a roadblock, with the company’s founders, brothers Carlos and Daniel Mastretta, announcing they have left the company due to differences with a key investor, believed to be Latin Ideas Ventures.

The two brothers founded Mastretta back in the 1980s but recently sought funding from a number of investment groups to help get the company’s first product, the MXT sports car, approved for sale in global markets. One of those investment groups was Latin Ideas Ventures, which the brothers had ceded control of the company to.

"It is the contention of the Mastrettas that the new management team made poor strategic decisions, failed to achieve any of the agreed goals, and wasted valuable funds that should have been earmarked for development,” the Mastretta brothers said in a statement obtained by Autocar. “It is also alleged that despite a contractual agreement being in place, investors have withheld the second instalment of funding.”

The full statement from the Mastrettas also revealed that the brothers repeatedly warned the new management about some of its bad decisions, including delays to the approvals program, and that the lack of progress being made as well as the halt in agreed funding forced the brothers to leave the company.

In the statement, the Mastrettas say they are willing to return once their concerns are addressed.